1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bacterial strain. More particularly, the present invention relates to a bacterial strain for degrading organic polymer compounds and environmental hormone compounds.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, organic polymers are extensively used in the agricultural, the manufacturing, the cosmetic and the medical industries. Nonionic surfactant is a typical type of organic polymers. About 25% of the nonionic surfactants are alkylphenol polyethoxylates (APEOn) including nonylphenol polyethoxylates (NPEOn) and octylphenol polyethoxylates (OPEOn). It is important to note that, certain short chain alkylphenol polyethoxylates (for example: alkylphenol monoethoxylate and alkylphenol diethoxylates) and some alkylphenol polyethoxylates derivatives (for example: nonylphenol and octylphenol) are considered to be compounds that show the activity of an environmental hormone. Certain environmental analysis data has also indicated that these types of metabolites are not readily degradable and easily accumulate in the environment, adversely affecting human health and ecological systems. For example, recent research reports have indicated that decreasing human sperm counts may be related to the activity of environmental hormones. Therefore, problems in ecology and human health caused by surfactants and their derivatives have gained a great deal of attention in recent years.
Due to the absence of legal regulation, organic polymers, for example surfactants, are used in many industries and are often directly discharged into the natural environment along with wastewater. Furthermore, many farmlands are frequently sprayed with the pesticides and herbicides that contain a large amount of organic polymers, directly contaminating soils and fresh water.
Since the contamination of fresh water and soils by nonionic surfactant has become a serious problem in many countries, treatment methods for water and soils contaminated by nonionic surfactant are urgently required. Additionally, in the bioremediation of petroleum and petrochemical contamination, organic polymers such as surfactants are added to enhance the biodegradability of petrochemical contaminants. To prevent further contamination during the bioremediation process, the removal of the surfactants is crucial.